


Reluctant friend

by AvaDiablo



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-20 09:24:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4782188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaDiablo/pseuds/AvaDiablo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Ohno moved from Tokyo to Niigata, he has a little trouble settling in and finding friends in the uneventful town. But as most things are in life; history has a habit of catching up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a working one - I'm open to suggestions

After living in Tokyo for years Niigata didn't seem all that exciting. After weeks of trying to settle in, his only contacts were his two next neighbours and the land lady of the building he was living in. It was a bit run down but at least he had a dry roof over his head. He even had a spare room which was left empty by the lack of furniture. Onho sat on the floor by the open window staring out at the empty street. Evening had set in, street lights - or at least the ones still working - lit up the street in an orangey yellow. He could stare out his window for hours and no one would even come over the road. Nothing happened here and he was kind of glad because of it. He moved some of the curry rice around on his plate with his spoon. Staring at it he thought he must be very pathetic. He felt lonely being out here. His next door neighbour had brought him the dish. She was an elderly woman who cared for her husband. When he had first moved into the building, the land lady had introduced them. Morita Kiyomi-san. In his head it had already progressed to Kiyomi-chan, not that he would ever refer to her like that in person. She was sweet to bring him food after he had come home from his job and she eyed just as lonely as he felt.

Back in Tokyo he had been a manager of an art centre. It featured some of his works when ever he could squeeze some in an exhibition. He made quite a fortune that way. He knew his art was good. He had been good at his job as well. Art was a passion he couldn't bare to live without. His eyes went over the bare walls. He had had the courage to put anything up, just yet. This place didn't feel like home, just yet. He sighed feeling a heavy burden when a cat strolled by on the ledge out side his window. The collar read 'Miwa'. He assumed she was female and scratched her behind the ears. Miwa belonged to the neighbour on the other side of his apartment. She was also much older than he was. She mumbled a lot and lived a long with Miwa and at least one or two other cats. Sato-san the neighbour's name was. She took an instant liking to him when he had smiling told her his first name was Satoshi, which was a longer version of her own. She was all smiles and nods, but not much for conversation, though. She did sweep the area of his front door when she did hers. Sometimes she was so absent minded she just kept on sweeping the entire floor. Both women were nice people and kept pretty much to themselves.

Miwa purred and stepped into his apartment. The cat curled his tail around his leg circling it for a bit. He put the curry rice down and petted it while it ate. Satoshi missed his old job. Interacting with artist, thinking up stages and areas. Helping them build those and placing the art himself. the art studio had been more of a home than his actual Tokyo apartment had been. Life had been different, busy and hectic. He watched the cat eat for a bit longer before taking the plate. He didn't really want to throw the food away, but he wasn't feeling particularly hungry, and now that the cat had eaten from it, it was totally out of the question keeping the food. Miwa jumped up on the counter as he rinsed the plate and spoon in the sink. He put the cat on the floor, but Miwa jumped back up again, purring, as soon as his back was turned. 

"Stay," he warned her after three times putting her back down when the plate and spoon were dried and put away. He sighed leaning on the counter. Maybe he should just go for a walk down town. The quiet and emptiness inside here were wearing him down. It seemed to get worse with every passing day. He slept, got up, ate breakfast, went to work, got home and did nothing. He had no friends to speak of; empty canvases and sketch pads lay where they had been lying for weeks now; in the far side corner of his new dwelling. He had known starting over would be hard, but never had it crossed his mind it might actually be soul crushing. Taking a warm vest and the cat he walked out and rang the neighbour's doorbell. Sato-san opened after a short while and smiled when she saw the cat.

"I wondered where Miwa had run off too. Arigatou, Ohno-san." She closed the door and locked it after nodding and bowing a few times. A sad smile played on Satoshi's lips. One sentence. And a smile that was meant for the cat. He definitely needed to get out more. He felt like hopping down stairs, you know, to get a spring in his step. He stopped after fours paces feeling like an idiot. Descending the stairs he contemplated walking to Furugawa, the nearby hotspot. The problem wasn't so much as going by foot; it was getting back. He still ended up lost if he had something the drink. And there was not much else to do except drink and visit the local bookshop and internet café.

Taking his bike - better safe than sorry, right? - he drove off. Niigata had a rough existence with frequent earthquakes. Lately these were quite massive in force. The tsunami in 2006 did nothing good for the place. Along the coast lines and a miles land inwards they were still rebuilding. It was a quiet reminder how easy life could be threatened by the force of nature. Over the years, he had put his hard earned money in numerous 'rebuilding projects'. Most of his wealth had been pumped into projects until there was not much left. A combination of charity and really bad investments. But he had held his head high for he was giving back to society.

However, society wasn't ready to give back to him, yet.


	2. The Coffee house

Cycling towards the Bandai bridge took about 20 minutes. Furumachi lay just about on the other side of the Shinano River. It was a shopping district where he worked in a small time coffee house. Serving coffee wasn't the ideal job, but at least it paid the bills somewhat. The endless stream of coffee addicts only seemed to grow lately. At work he was all smiles all the time. No sense in looking grumpy in a line of work which dealt with serving other people. By the time he got home his jaws would hurt so badly it was hard to smile at all. The bridge was arched and numerous lights would light it in different colours depending on the occasion. Today it was the standard yellow he saw every where else. Checking his watch crossing the bridge he decided he could just as well go get some coffee. The privileged of working in a coffee house was that most of the time the coffee he consumed was free of charge. Except if he wanted something special. He loved mixing up his own coffees. Some ended up on the menu, others were plain awful and a few he kept to himself. 

A small smile crossed his lips which reminded him instantly how much he already had smiled today. For some reason he felt like having Black Forest Coffee. The thought of coffee and with whipped cream and cherry flavour made his mouth water. He could add just a drop of kirsch to take the edge of today's dreariness. Furumachi literally lay about 5 minutes from the riverside. Between the tall office buildings ran small shopping streets with stores in various sizes. But the best ones he found were also the smaller ones, run by the somewhat older people. The local coffee house was situated in a street which crossed one of the busier streets. Zigzagging through the light traffic on the main road he came to a stop when he neared the street where he worked. No bicycles were allowed, but he took it by the hand and walked across the street any way. He always parked around back and no one ever said anything. He usually entered from the back too, since that was the unofficial employee entrance. However, he thought smirking to himself, today he was a customer and walked around to the main entrance.

The inside was mostly made of wood and felt warm and cosy. The counter was a bit in the back, but to the left and right were various sitting options, with tables, chairs, couches and cushions. You could even sit near a fire place to the left, or in the window stills which were made for that purpose alone. The owner had put a lot of effort into creating it. As he found out recently, this coffee shop was going from generation on generation and had originated as a tea shop way back. The building changed a lot, but the location was still the same as it had been.

There were still a few people there. The guy behind the counter was busy listing the various names of the coffees and the ingredients which went into them to a couple of girls. Ohno smirked some more. The costumers were local employees who worked at the movie theatre near here. And his co-worker wasn't asked because they didn't know what they wanted to drink. They just wanted to prolong his attention on them. He had this charm which made most of the guests return frequently. The three girls laughed at his jokes and mispronunciations which gave him cause to wink at them in hush hush 'it's-our-secret-I-slipped-up' way. 

From his slightly long curly hair to the shoes he wore, this guy was perfection reincarnated. He had an easy way of doing things, which actually required a lot of thought and preparation. His clothes wear always picture perfect and he carried himself like a model. He probably could be one, heck, maybe he was one and Ohno would've never known.   
They often worked together during the lunch and dinner times when the place got overrun packed with caffeine addicts. Both worked hard and had fun which never went outside of the coffee shop. Once the dark eyes of his co-worker fell upon him he gave his smile and extra dimension.

"Ah, that's just the guy we need! Ohno-san come here explain what's what!" he commented with 'help me out' message written all over it to which Ohno looked faked surprised and smiled automatically back at their patronage.   
"Not my shift, Matsumoto-san. I'm here to buy coffee like the rest. So please continue. I'm listening as well." His co-worker's cheeks coloured a little deeper which made the girls laugh a little more.   
"Ohno-kun loves teasing you, doesn't he?" one of the girls cooed to Jun, who nodded sadly, giving Ohno an equally fake 'if-looks-could-kill' look.   
"He does," Matsumoto whined, "but at least, I bet he knows what kind of coffee he wants. Unlike some girls I happen to know." The women laughed at his wink. Ohno smiled knowingly. This wasn't the first time he caught him flirting with the customers.  
"I actually do know. Could you fix me a Black Forest Coffee? Extra heavy on the whipped cream and spike it a little with kirsch?" Matsujun smiled at him as blindingly as he would to the women in front of him. It was also one knowing he always ordered 'off the menu' coffees.


	3. Blue Mountain Café

After MJ had made the coffee Ohno went walking the street by himself while sipping the hot drink. He could have stayed in the shop. MJ wouldn't have mind. He probably would have joined him as soon as he got rid of those girls. Fact was, they had little in common and shared little interest in the same discussions other than coffee. And really, as much as they both loved it, there was only so much one can say about it.

The streets were mostly empty; the shops long closed. Window shopping was a nice way the spend the time, thought. He ventured through several streets and ended right back at the coffee shop. Sighing he rolled his eyes, noticing not even 15 minutes had gone by. Even now he didn't know what to do with his time. Contemplating if he would rather return home and sit by his one window staring out at nothing, or perhaps have another stroll, he noticed the eerie flashing neon sign come to life and blink a few times.

AoiYama - Blue Mountain - internet café. He had come by the place earlier. Ohno assumed it was closed down. It never seemed crowded over there. The windows were blinded and plastered with pamflets of all kinds of products, mostly manga and game related. Maybe he could spend some of the time here online, see what had become of his precious art house and various projects he once had.

Making up his mind - how bad could it be to check out - he walked over. The door wasn't plastered like the windows; it had tinted glass. The door frame was an off green colour and the paint was chipped and partly gone. He looked up at the sign again. Was there really an internet café behind this door?

The inside was illuminated with lamps and candles and an open fire in the back. It looked small. There was a counter a few feet away with three large monitors on it. A few couches with tables on a worn out carpet. Near the fire in the back was a large wooden table with chairs where two guys and a girl sat playing cards. Ohno tried taking it all in and just stood there in the door opening watching the room. For an internet café there sure was a lack of pc's with internet access. He didn't know whether to be intrigued or shocked by the rather weird appearance of a living room area.  
He had been in cafes plenty of times in Tokyo, but they were absolutely nothing like this. For one - they had cubicles with pc's.

"In or out!" came a voice from the counter. Too shocked to move Ohno kept standing in the door frame. The voice came from the guy Ohno hadn't see at first when he glossed over the counter with the monitors. The guy with the green fade t-shirt was leaning over the counter reading a magazine. His hair fell in front of his eyes. It was slightly curled and reminded him of Matsumoto for a second.  
"I don't have any rooms left," he followed up his earlier comment without looking up. When Ohno still didn't move the guy glanced his way and eyed him quizzically.  
"Can I help you with something?" he said half laughing. His eyes seemed to sparkle as his smile reached his eyes. He put some of his hair behind his ear, but it fell back promptly. He looked too young to be working here. It took Ohno a bit of effort to tear his eyes away from the young man.  
"No, no, that's okay. I don't need anything," he hastened to say, giving the place another glance and shaking his head eyeing the weird interior one last time, "I better get going." 

The evening sky looked brighter than in was turning away from the dimly lit café. Could it even be called a café? Where were the computers? Ohno walked the bit back to the coffee house to get his bike. Why did the guy say there weren't any rooms left? What rooms? Questions kept stacking to which he had no answer. And one question seemed to repeat it self; How was it that there were no rooms left? He never ever saw people entering that place. Then again, he wasn't really paying attention when he was at work. He mind seemed to spin with the possibilities.

"Hey!" A bit dazed he turned at the voice coming from behind him. The young café owner was standing in the street, holding the door open. He was wearing green sneakers with a worn out ripped jeans with his long sleeved T-shirt. "Wanna come in for a bit?" Ohno frowned.  
"Thought you had no rooms left!" he retorted. The guy smiled pleasantly at his joke.  
"I don't. But I know that look any here," the guys said pointing at him for a second, making Ohno frown again. What look? Did he have a 'look'? Since when did he have 'look'? He sighed slightly. Just one more thing to be aware of.  
"Yeah, that's the one!" the young man said laughing. "The one that says you're carrying the world around on your shoulders. I can recognize it miles away." Ohno failed to see the humour in it.  
"Come on, a bit of company will do you good!" the guy said flashing him a comforting smile and a nod with his head inside his shop before entering and letting the door close behind him. Ohno was left with a weird mix of emotion. Surprise, disbelieve, and creepiness. He could stop the current train of thought about him having a look. Walking back and opening the door again he found the young guy in the same position as he originally did. Hanging over the counter reading. But now he flashed him another smile as he looked up. 

"Come on, I won't bite!"  
Ohno couldn't help a smile back. He alsmost wanted to retort: "Promise?" with a devil-may-cry-grin but he didn't even know the guy so he took a few paces inside to let the door close behind him. The guy took a sip from his coffee cup when Ohno suddenly felt the need to ask:  
"You aren't coming on to me, are you?" He voice sounded beyond worried making the guy spray coffee all over his counter from laughter and shock. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and searched for cleanex to clean the mess up.  
"You have some strange ideas, Ohno-san," he commented, grabbing an old towel which lay behind the counter. As he started wiping the coffee away he only succeeded in making the counter sticky and smudged. Ohno stared at it in dismay. That was definitively not proper cleaning. The guy threw the towel away into an adjacent room and sprayed the counter with a cleansing lotion, wiping it clean with the cleanex he had found. As Ohno watched he slowly recalled that the guy had used his name.  
"Have we met before?"


	4. The weird guy

The guy tapped his paper coffee cup, which featured the same logo as Ohno's cup did. Ohno stared at it.  
"You buy your coffee across the street," he said nodding, to which the other frowned.  
"I do. I also ONLY get coffee when you work. You see me like four times a day!" Ohno looked up to meet the other person's eyes.  
"What?" he asked hesitantly. He probably didn't hear that right.

"You don't pay a lot of attention to things or people, do you?" He said sitting down and taking another sip, while looking over the brim of hus cup towards Ohno who was still standing where he stood looking completely lost. He shrugged.  
"I guess I don't."  
"I'm Ninomiya Kazunari," the guy says since Ohno wouldn't ask, "Are you going to stand there all day?"  
Ohno looked around to where he could sit when Ninomiya pulled out a stool from underneath the desk counter. Taking the seat the café owner shares his magazine as if they were long term friends. He pointed to a mechanical robot dog which supposedly could do around 20 tricks, barked and follow his owner around.

"This would be awesome to have. My landlord won't let me have pets. Not that I need a pet, there's no room, but just saying. You have pets, Ohno-kun?" Ohno stared and blinked. What? He went from being -san to -kun with in a minute. He looked at Ninomiya from the corner of his eye and looked away promptly since Nino was watching him intently with a big smile across his lips.  
"Do you want some more coffee?" He asked his guest. Ohno shook his head not trusting any of it.  
"What is this place?" came the question he had wanted to ask when he had first stepped in here. Ninomiya let his mouth hang open in sheer astonishment, while gripping his heart for effect.  
"Oh... Did ... Did you just ask me a question?" the Owner asked feigning shock. Ohno looked down with embarrassment. Coming here clearly proved a mistake and he already was trying to figure out how to leave this place. The fact that he could just walk out didn't enter his mind. He wanted a reason, a legitimate fake reason. 

"You're cute when you fluster like that." Ninomiya told him out of the blue.  
What? Ohno frowned feeling awkward as heck.  
"Are you sure you're not trying to hit on me? I'm - " Ohno started as a screen started blinking, beeping incessantly. It showed a diagram of rooms and one was blinking red. Nino smiled taking a black card swiper from the counter.  
"Hold that thought, I'll be right back," he said with a wink which made Ohno hide his face in his hands. But as Ninomiya walked away, entering a door to the side his interest was piqued none the less. Glaring at the trio by the fire in case they would notice, he eyed the monitors kind of slyly. The layout showed three corridors with rooms, a fair amount of them as Ohno inspected the monitors. Ohno saw him walk towards one in the end of the monitor and pound on the door. Instead of the whole door a slide opened which didn't help his curiosity.  
There was no sound, so he had no clue to what was going on. But Nino got a card from the person behind the door, which he swiped and gave back. There was some more conversation before the owner returned. As he passed the security camera he looked up and smiled deviously into it, as if he knew Ohno was watching. Feeling caught but not wanting to wait for his to return he practically ran out the door to get the heck home. Embarrassed much? Geez!

Home was quiet. His heart was pounding from the speed he had raced home with. He vowed he was not going to go back there again. Ninomiya Kazunari might be friendly, but it was too friendly on the border of creepy. As he sat in his favourite spot looking out on to the empty road he sighed. He wondered if all people were like that in Niigata. Probably not. Just his luck to run into someone that weird. Ohno couldn't help the gentle smile playing around on his lips. Creepy, friendly or not, the café owner had taken the time to talk to him. How many people had he met who actually talked to him, apart from the next door neighbours and Matsujun on occasion. 

Ninomyia was weird, Ohno thought - thinking that creepy sounded rather harshly. And weird was good in his opinion. There were enough normal people in the world doing to same thing, every day. For some reason he couldn't get the young looking guy out of his head. Ohno wondered what kind of cafe he actually owned. And if Ninomiya was the owner. He looked way to young to own anything. Did he really come by the coffee shop four times a day? Was it truly possible he never paid attention to the ones returning frequently? These were the questions which he pondered as time trickled by. He couldn't get rid of the image of the owner leaning over the counter looking up at him as he talked about the robot puppy. So, Ohno did what he hadn't done in weeks since he wasn't obsessing over anything lately; he took the sketch pad from the other room and began to draw.


	5. Friendships and coffee

"One Blue Mountain Coffee, please," a familiar voice sounded the next morning. Ohno sat at one of the tables near the big window. It felt weird but he had spend some of the time working watching the AoiYama internet café, so he knew when Nino had come over. He hadn't really intended on watching the café across the street but somehow it sort of happened as it had been occupying his mind since yesterday.

Matsumoto had just smiled at him like he knew exactly why Ohno insisted on taking a short break suddenly but had no objections to it. Ohno sat in the corner pretending to read something, while trying to hide himself as best as he could from the owner. There were only a few customers left. The young cafe-owner didn't even look at the board displaying several coffees or around him. Just stood there, waited and ordered.

Ohno couldn't help a smile hearing the name of the iced coffee Nino ordered. It was a Jamacian coffee, one which was spiked with rum. And as it bore the same name as his café Ohno thought it was really coincidental he liked the coffee as well. It just figured, he thought amused. Matsumoto made the drink with practised ease while he inquired about the amount of rum he should add and if he wanted whipped cream on top; which made Ohno cringe. Whipped cream on top of a classic iced coffee? What the hell was he thinking?

Nino declined the cream and went with the standard amount of rum, because 'it no way near closing time yet.'. Ohno frowned as it also meant that Nino drank alcohol during working hours. As Matsumoto complete the order, Ohno tried to make himself invisible. He stared outside trying to hide behind a random magazine which lay on the table and waited for Nino to take his drink and walk out.

"Did I scare you away, yesterday?" Onho really did his best not to flinch by the unexpected sound of the owner's voice. He looked up from the magazine and met Nino's eyes before remembering to look away - he was trying to hide after all - feeling embarrassed about last night was not helping any.

"No, just remembered I needed to be somewhere else," he said in a mumbling tone, avoiding the comical look the young man gave him. No doubt there would be something following that comment. But Nino remained silent and nodded with a gentle smile as he eyed his new friend. He joined Ohno at his table without being invited to do so. No doubt the look on Ohno's face spoke volumes of how unwelcome he was. Still, Ninomiya was all smiles as he crossed his arms on the table and leaning his chin on them. He looked up at Ohno, all lost puppy-style with the big eyes and waited for ohno to reacted or crack a smile. He looked adorably cute. But no reaction came.

"It wouldn't kill you to smile more," the younger guy complained to Ohno who refused to look at him. The morning sun was better the look at than this weird guy drinking weird spiked coffee in the morning.  
"I'll smile when I have something to smile about," Ohno replied reluctantly.  
"You don't like me much, do you?" Nino said sipping his rum coffee. Ohno gave him a levelled look and frowned as he weighed the words. He couldn't say he actually disliked the guy, but he was definitely too weird for him to handle right now.  
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Nino shrugged and flashed him a half smile. He had some many comebacks to that he was unable to choose. Better to be silent on this one, he thought. Besides if he put up such a fight of being friendly, he might not be a good friend to begin with any way. Matsumoto joined them cheerily. 

Ohno wondered what it was about today that the both of them felt like joining his table without being invited to do so.  
"Here," Matsumoto said sliding a new coffee in front of Ohno. He looked rather pleased with his creation as Ohno looked up from the new coffee to his co-worker, "I made it myself," he announced with a smile, obviously curious to what Ohno would think of his creation. Nino only raised an eyebrow at the exchange of coffee looking from one to the other. 

"You didn't make me one?" he asked sounding a little miffed. Jun smiled sweetly at him.  
"No," was the simply reply which was met with a glare.  
"Why not? I like coffee as much as the next guy!"  
"You always complain about my creations!" Matsujun gave back. "It's never quite right with you. He at least knows what coffee should be like!"

Nino looked slightly offended and countered every playful accusation made by Jun. Ohno watched their exchange with some intrest. Apparently Nino and Jun were closer friends than he previously thought. Their argument ended with some shoving and laughter which ended abruptly when Nino pointed at Ohno.

"I knew it! You DO have a beautiful smile!" which send Jun into a laughing fit, covered up with his hands, and made Ohno realise he had been smiling watching them argue. He changed his smile into a smirk, hoping to divert their attention as he eyed the coffee Matsumoto had made with some suspicion, not able to completely hide his stupid smile.

"What is it?" Ohno took the coffee and watching the whipped cream and dark liquid with some concern. In stead of in a paper cup, Matsumoto had poured the coffee into a tall glass. The cream held back most of the coffee scent and Ohno could only guess to what Jun had done or added to the coffee, if it even was still coffee. He could see tiny things floating in the liquid as they got stuck in the cream on top. 

"Just taste it!" His co-worker looked so much excited that his glass was already half way to be tested, only to be follow up with a less confident: "I really hope you like it." There was another look between the two friends and Nino sniggered as he watched Ohno take a sip. There was a reason Ohno disliked whipped cream; every time he drank it as a topping his nose would be covered in it and for some reason there was no avoiding that from happening. 

And he tried a lot of weird ways of drinking it without having a nose full. Cringing on the inside when his nose dipped into the foam he let the dark liquid pass his lips. He held his eyes closed, not because he expected to be blown away, or really trying to savour the taste and ingredients, but to block out the eyes staring at him drinking. The first taste wasn't as bad as he expected. He could taste the strong Cuban coffee, a hint of blueberries and chocolate, some chocolate chips which had not quite melted clung to his tongue before disappearing. The cream softened the after taste. And Ohno had to admit it wasn't bad. Not bad at all. 

"You can tell us, Ohno-san! It's really horrible, right?" Nino said teasingly after he had three sips.  
"Hey!" Matsujun hit Nino on the back of his head looking more than a little shocked.  
As ohno set the glass down, rolling the last sip in his mouth a bit before swallowing, he heard Nino laugh. Opening his eyes he saw Nino's fingers right in front of his face before them being smacked away by Jun's hand.

"Don't be so gross, Nino! Here." Jun help out a paper napkin to Ohno. "You have foam all over your nose."  
Ohno whiped his nose, cringing on the inside, while nino looked sheepish about not being able to scoop some of it off his skin and by all accounts probably lick it from his finger too. Watching Jun and Nino, Ohno already had the impression that Nino had no problem with invading personal space.  
"Well? What did you think? Is it good?"


	6. Dungeons and corners

Smiling ear to ear Matsumoto made Nino the coffee he had made Ohno, while Ohno tended the counter making coffees for a few customers waiting in line. He watched the two friends teasing each other relentlessly and Matsumoto perked up as he got praised by Nino for the coffee. It had probably been forever since he had actually produced something good in the eyes of his friend. 

Where Nino had called his smile jokingly 'beautiful' Ohno couldn't help wonder in which category the one Jun was sporting would fall. There had to be some hidden power in it which made it hard to resist smiling back, he thought. Nino had no trouble reciprocating it with one of his own as they were childishly going back and forth playing with the whipped cream. 

With a slight shake of his head and sighing he gave up resisting to smile all together. It proved to hard to keep. The amount of happiness they shared between them, made him even feel slightly jealous. In his old life style, with the friends he thought he once had, it never once felt like anything these two friends shared. 

As Jun walked back, putting the coffee and cream stained glasses in their little dishwasher, Ohno whiped the counter. Jun bumped his shoulder into Ohno's smiling like no tomorrow. Ohno couldn't help rolling of his eyes, as this was clearly meant to irk him in a teasingly way. What ever professional distance there was between them before the coffee break, was now completely gone now.

"I knew you would like it," Jun claimed quietly, as if Ohno was 'all knowing' on what made a good coffee. He just smiled back, hoping it wasn't over done. He feared smiling back would lead to hugs, and what ever else close friends shared that he was oblivious about.   
"It's good; we should put it on the menu." It was that comment which lead to the surprise hug Ohno was already fearing. The situation got slightly worse as he locked eyes with Nino who approached the counter, not hiding his smirk.

"Looks like you don't need help making friends, after all, Ohno-kun" he joked light-heartedly, clearly happy to see his friend happy. Ohno kept his hands off Jun, not knowing how to feel about this turn of events. He silently blamed Ninomiya. Jun let go and looked a bit surprised.

"Why would you think that? Oh wait! Speaking of friends!" He fumbled aroud in the pocket of his jeans and produced a piece of paper, holding it out for Nino to take, "I can't go tonight." He sounded appologettic, "I know I said I would come, but I've got something else planned tonight." His tone went from apologetic to guilty and as he looked away from Nino. And even Ohno could pick up on the fact that 'something else' clearly meant 'way better'. As Nino watched his friend in silence, Jun shoved the ticked in Ohno's hands. 

"You can go!" To which Ohno blinked and shook his head, without knowing what he was turning down.  
"I don't want to go!"   
"You don't even know what it is!" came the dual response from the other two chastising his remark. Followed by Nino's: "What the heck is better than this party?" directed at Jun. Jun leaned over the counter indicating the others to do so too.

"I've been invited to go to 'The Dungeon'." His voice was hushed as if it was something secret. Ohno had no clue what the heck The Dungeon was, but the way Nino looked really impressed, he felt it was something he ought to know about.  
"And you are going?" Nino asked sounding incredulous.  
"Of course! It's invitation only! Only an idiot would pass this up!"  
"Who invited you?"  
"That's a secret."  
"Who else is coming?"  
"Don't know, it's just me, I guess."  
"Do you have enough mace to protect yourself? Enough chains and stuff?" 

The question was met with a silent stare and one eyebrow raised stating the obvious. Ohno just looked confused. Really? Mace and chains? What kind of event was this?  
"Duh!" Matsujun said with a smile and a blush on his cheeks looking quite shyish.  
"Sorry," Nino grinned, "I have heard that some weird stuff happens at those events." To which Jun nodded in agreement.  
"Me too. But I'm still really excited to go! Can't believe I got invited!"  
"Me neither!" Nino responded sounding a bit envious.

The exchange was rappid en hushed like the initial tone Jun started with.   
"I truly hope you have fun," Nino concluded with a misschieve smile speaking volumes, to which Jun beamed and kind of blushed. Ohno was left confused and Nino took advantage of iy by claiming Ohno would come to the boat party with him tonight and in a daze, still trying to wrap his head around mace and chains, Ohno agreed to it. 

After Nino had left with a "You better tell me everything when you get back," towards Jun, Jun started to talk excitedly about the boat party to Ohno, who had reluctantly agreed to go. It was only then that Ohno realised he actually had to go as tickets were ordered in advonce and were already sold out. It wouldn't have cost him anything.

"You are in luck, Oh-chan," Jun told him shortening his name, "'Nauthicle Beats' is a great party. You sail out to the sun set, mingle, drink and dance, until late in the morning. You'll sail to little islands or maybe end up skinny dipping ... I envy you for going!"   
"Then why the hell don't you go instead! Go to that Dungeon some other time!" Ohno countered, not actually wanting to be on a boat with weird Ninomiya, because he was realising there was no evading him on a boat AT ALL. Jun smirked.

"I would go, if I wasn't invited to The Dungeon. I love Aiba-chan's parties! But I will come with you next month." Ohno didn't know what to say to that. This 'Nauthicle thing' was a monthly reoccurring thing? He was still figuring out a way of not going. Who was this Aiba? What exactly happened to him today? He felt corners and didn't like it.   
"This is his freaking fault!" Ohno hissed to himself thinking of Nino.

"Don't tell me you are affraid of little Kazu!" Jun exclaimed, but the way Ohno returned a troubled look made the smirk fade.   
"Oh, really? You are afraid?" As if thinking it was impossible he added: "Of Nino? Really?"  
"Of course not!" Ohno would have love to sound indifferent, all he succeeded at was sounding like he was afraid. And he realised he was prepared to lie to Jun if need be but Jun surprised him after a thought or two.

"I actually can imagine how you feel, Ohno-san,' which Ohno questioned instantly, "He might seem a bit much. But he's really a nice guy." Jun leaned against the counter as he gave Ohno a paper cup with regular coffee; meticulously made the way Ohno like it. Jun looked a bit concerned.   
"He only pretends to be over the top to see how people react to him. He likes to play around a lot without really showing what he actually thinks. And while he's doing that to people he is actually figuring out if you will stick around long enough to earn his trust and friendship."


	7. Inside AoiYama

As soon as Ohno locked down the coffee house he figured Ninomiya would be standing right in front of the shop to drag his ass to the boat party. Not wanting to admit it, he felt slightly disappointed when that was not the case. He glanced over to the café building. After the talk with Jun, he wasn't really thinking differently about Nino; after all the guy still possessed the power to creep him out when ever he felt like it. But he could relate to the 'sticking around, earning his trust thing'. When stuff went downhill for him in Tokyo, how many friends actually were there for him to help him pick up the pieces? How many had contacted him since he even move to Niigata?  
Not wanting to remember the awkward, not too long ago past, he sighed. So instead of thinking Nino would pick him up, he should go get Nino - so he could take him to Nauthicle Beats thing. 

"Hi," Ohno said a bit confused seeing a strange girl sitting where he had expected to find Nino. She had radiant blue hair, in two pig tails, with a short skirt and boots reaching past her knees. She eyed him with a polite smile.   
"We don't have any rooms left," she said in the same way as Nino had the previous night.  
"I'm already aware of that and I'm not here for a room. I'm here for Ninomiya Kazunari." A bit on edge he wanted to add 'he works here', but would even more awkward than it already did in his mind. 

She turned to face him, taking him in once more making no secret to the fact she was now checking him out for some reason. She was just short of saying "Oh, so you're Ohno-kun." but she kept quiet on that as her gaze turn pensive.   
"He's out back," she pointed at the door he had seen Nino disappear off to before. "Down the hall, take a left twice, down the stairs, take a right. You should see a double glass door leading to the terrace." 

With a polite 'thank you' Ohno followed the directions with some hesitation. Twice left and right didn't proof so easy, as he spotted a door not described by the girl, which was locked with a card slot and sure as heck not made of glass. Ohno never was good at following spoken directions. And where he should take a left there were three options all leading left.  
Turning around he wondered if he indeed saw a staircase, but as he took a few turns, he wandered into another lounge area, feeling lost. He never would have guessed the area to be this big as it didn't look that big to begin with... The lounge area had a TV showing static and a vending machine, a couch which had seen better days and a coffee table adorned with a vase and flowers. A rug underneath it in the shape of an off white duck completed the weird look. He eyed around him when a man in boxers, slightly out of breath passed him and inquired if he had any condoms to spare. As Ohno replied he hadn't he missed to opportunity to follow the guy and maybe get out of here as he stared at him in surprise.

But it didn't surprise him to find Nino walking back with the guy who hurried to his room, after all, there were camera's every where. Nino smiled smugly as he crossed his arms.  
"Exploring, are we?" Ohno crossed his arms imitating Nino's pose, feeling warmth spread across his cheeks.  
"We'ren't we supposed to go to a party?" Nino cocked his head.  
"I thought you weren't interested." Ohno shrugged in response.   
"Don't tell me Jun said something and that's why you are here," Nino added, raising an eyebrow already knowing Jun had. The colour depend and Nino muttered how badly he wanted to kill Jun.   
"Listen," the café owner spoke, "you don't have to come and-" Ohno cut the rest of the sentence off by showing Nino his ticket.  
"I want to go. I was kind of disappointed you weren't there dragging my ass to the party when I locked up the shop." If it was possible to add more colour to his cheeks he'd probably burst. His skin already felt like it burned and Nino's broad smile didn't make it better.  
"Ha," he said sounding triumphantly smug, "Can't live without my company after all, huh?" He winked at the older man, and Ohno rolled his eyes.

Nino's 'Let's get going' consisted out of him dragging Ohno through a few corridors and out of the building by his wrist and yelling "Hi! Bye! Don't wait up!" to the girl at the counter in passing. Being dragged along be Nino was something else; he was surprisingly fast as Nino crossed a few streets to hail a taxi at the local taxi stand. 

The ride to the boat was about twenty minutes in which Nino grew impossibly more excited about the whole thing and chatted about how great it was going to be; how Jun was going to miss a great party and how awesome it was that Ohno was here instead of Jun, because he had a feeling Ohno would be more fun than Jun. 

Ohno was possibly more weirded out for the fact that Nino would even say something like that about his friend in making him believe 'Jun was no fun'. As Nino kept talking Ohno kept swaying between smiles and worry. After all, Nino might have been coming every day since he worked at the coffee shop; he knew Nino for little over 24 hours. He tried to tell himself it would be okay; he was a friend of Jun's and Jun was smart enough not to have weird friends .... Right? But somehow, he really started to doubt this.

The cab drove them to the small-time, rickety build 'habour'. Or at least it said 'harbour' on the entrance gate they walked past. The 'harbour' was nothing more than a huge wooden pier that lead to the boat. The way was illuminated with Christmas lights and bells which chimed a little in the light breeze. The bass of music was travelling through the air already, to a melody Ohno recognized from his 'party days' in Tokyo. Nino dragged Ohno by his arm and jumped for effect on the wooden floor boards, making Ohno grab hold of the railing in a slight panic. He like boats, he like the sea, rickety floorboards - not so much. Nino smiled sporting a wickedness in his eyes tugging him along.   
"Come on scardy cat!"


	8. Naughtical Beats

The boat was bigger than Ohno thought it would be, but it wasn't how he imagined it would look like. He had been on boats before, but that was more for fishing and relaxation, not for partying. So this wasn't exactly a boat, but more like a yacht.  
There were already a lot of people moving about as Nino dragged him across the deck to someone he had spotted in the crowd. Ohno mutted he could stay on his own on deck as Nino went to find who ever he was looking for but Nino joked that he was afraid Ohno might run off if he left him by his lonesome self. There were three decks on this ship as far as Ohno could tell; A small deck above them where the crew was, the mid deck where they were now and a lower deck. Even with all the people here, it didn't take long to find the guy Nino was looking for, or rather for the guy to find them.

"Nino!" The cheery outburst from behind them made them both turn around. The guy approaching was taller than both of them. He smiled bright as he hugged Nino, making Ohno have instant thoughts about how short Nino actually was, as he was wrapped in those arms. Meanwhile, Nino still kept a tight grip on Ohno's wrist. Nino's friend with the cheery voice sported a gentle smile as the both of them joked around for a minute before Nino remembered to introduced them to each other. The taller man's eyes drifted to where Nino held Ohno's wrist a few times, making Ohno feel uncomfortable when the guy eyed him with some curiosity.

"This is Ohno Satoshi, he's a new friend. Ohno, Aiba Masaki. My long time friend." Aiba smiled smugly at the implied difference as they nodded in greeting. They exchanged some words, but soon the two friends were getting wrapped up in some playful argument about people Ohno didn't know; his mind started to wander off as he looked around him, watching people dance and walk around.

"So, what's the deal with the hand holding," Aiba commented interjecting Nino with whatever story he was telling. Nino grinned widely pulling Ohno closer.  
"He's my prisoner. I'm sure he will run off as soon as I let go," he told Aiba using a complaining tone as if he was talking about a misbehaving pet. Aiba nodded understandingly.  
"I see. So, the only way you keep friends these days is if you physically restrain them." He looked at Ohno and smiled, "I might have to give that a try too! Seems like a great way to keep friends. It also provides a great ice breaker if ou come up short for conversation, I'm sure." Nino rolled his eyes as Aiba continued looking intrigued. "Because the hand holding doesn't look like the two of you are together at all," which he directed at Nino who just grinned back at the comment.

"I will let him go once we set sail."  
"Right," Ohno muttered under his breath but loud enough to be heard, "Only because you assume I won't swim to shore." Ohno eyed Nino which made Aiba laugh.  
"I think you better hold on tight, Nino-chan," his friend joked, "this one is at risk of walking out of your life, or in this case swim out of it." He gave Ohno a pat on the back as he waved to some other people he knew passing them. He apologized for leaving them as he went and met up with some of the other guests.

"Would you really swim away?" Nino questioned with a smile as they went to get some drinks. He had let go of Ohno's wrist when he also noticed people were staring and joking. Not that he minded much, but Ohno seemed less comfortable with the sniggers as Nino dragged him all over the ship. They stood on the higher deck looking out over the ocean. Ohno looked at him with an incredulous look, but smirked replying: "Hell yeah."  
Nino didn't look convinced. "We'll be setting sail soon, you are welcome to try."  
"I better stop drinking then," Ohno said raising his glass in jest, "Or I might drown."  
They shared a mutual glance in silence. 

"So, Aiba-kun's a long time friend, huh?" Ohno inquired. Nino nodded in response, happy with the question.  
"We go way back when we were teens, Jun too actually," Nino mused, "there were some others in our merry band back then. We still are close, but we also drifted a bit a part. But that's only natural, I guess." Before Ohno could process the tone of voice and slight hurt hidden with in it, Nino launched into some story about how the three of them caused mischief where ever they went. And how they all avoided getting caught or punished by looking cute and innocent as hell.

"It's really the way you stare at people. I pout my lips and people generally go "aww". Jun and Aiba didn't have to do much though, they just blamed me and I got us off easy." He shrugged feeling amused. "It worked."  
"You talk a lot," Ohno remarked, trying to get the grin of his face. He had quite an imagination, so it wasn't hard to imagine the whole story happening as if he was there. Nino rolled his eyes at him.

"That's what you took from everything I've been telling you?" He sounded incredulous, but the glance in his eyes told Ohno he was faking it. Nino stood next to Ohno with their backs against the railing. Both smirking.  
"So what was life like before moving here?" Nino questioned Ohno. Ohno shrugged.  
"Just life, nothing special."

"I doubt that," countered Nino, "Jun said and I quote: "I bet he left Tokyo because of some epic tragedy!"," Nino looked at him expectantly. Ohno remain quiet.  
"Oh come on, Ohno-kun! Give me something. Besides, I doubt life was uneventful in Tokyo! Did you actually leave because of some horrible love tragedy? Is Jun right?"  
Ohno shook his head not wanting to share nor remember that part of history right now.  
"Nothing like that at all. Things just didn't work out and I left."  
"Touchy subject," Nino noted picking up on the reluctant emotion playing on his face.  
"It's not something I'd like to think about, yes. That part is done. This is here and now."  
"Now is here with me," Nino noted nodding while giving Ohno a secretive wink.  
"Apparently it is..."  
"And you are here as my date," Nino followed up looking mischievous  
"If you'll have me," Ohno smirked back to Nino who was caught off guard and left his mouth slightly open before grinning in response.  
"Here's to us, then," Nino said raising his glass of beer in a toast.


	9. Hung over

Ohno woke up the next morning feeling groggy, hung over and sporting a nice little headache. He forgot the close the curtains last night and sunlight came streaming in this morning. He turned to his side to look at the alarm clock. Just past half past seven. At what time did they come back? He couldn't remember the time, heck he could barely remember how they got back. The there was a pause in his in his thought. Wait a minute... They? He looked next to him, but the space was empty like it usually was. Still, it bugged him. Even if he couldn't remember it, he was fairly sure he didn't come home alone last night. Trying to back-track his night was a difficult experiencing making his headache protest the extra effort it needed to take.

Was Nino really here? He wrecked his poor brain cells. Yes he was, or at least he had been. Ohno was sure of it. So, if he was here... where was he now? He also had to wonder when the last time had been, that he actually had been this drunk and hung over. It was quite a while ago. Even at the parties in Tokyo he never really got this drunk. But then again, Nino, Aiba and some of their friends - or acquaintances as Nino had secretly told to him - proved more than enough fun to drink with. Nino even encouraged him to drink more, making fun of Aiba who passed out later that night. But not before warning Ohno in return to pace himself with alcohol and to watch out for Nino who could be overly friendly in a drunken state. Nino had replied offended, putting his arm around Ohno and planting a kiss on his cheek, that Aiba had no clue what he was talking about. But Aiba was spot on regarding Nino's friendliness.

Ohno sighed, running both hands through his hair. So, what happened? Did they drop him off at his apartment? For the life of him, he couldn't remember that part. Throwing the covers back, he walked to his tiny kitchen and decided to make some coffee. It wasn't like him to get up this early but between the sun and his headache he was feeling more awake then he liked. He glanced from the side of his eyes find the door to the other room closed. Which was weird in itself since that door to his 'studio' was usually open. Standing in front of it he felt silly. Because who knocking on their own damn door in their own house?! But just in case Nino was sleeping in there, he wanted to be a good host. So he knocked and waited a few seconds before opening the door softly and peered inside. Sure enough, on the floor were two make-shift beds with people sleeping in them. They lay close together in a bundle of blankets. One pair of odd feet sticking out, which didn't belong together. If Ohno was curious enough he might find them entwinted or embraced. But he didn't have the heart to wake them. One moved slightly. 

"Good morning," sounded the hoarse voice of Aiba, who raised his head before lying back and grabbing it with both hands, earning a grunt from the other. Ohno grinned sharing the mutual feeling.  
"Morning, didn't want to wake you. Sorry."  
"That's alright," breathed Aiba sounding like he found talking rather hard, "Are you always up this early? It's still early right? Please, don't tell me it's already afternoon and I'm late for work."  
"Nah, just past half past seven," Ohno grinned leaning against the door frame. His comment was met with more complaining noises and Nino stirring beside him.  
"Shut up, both of you," came the growl from underneath the covers, "We've barely been asleep for three hours. I would love to catch some more shut eye if you two don't mind." Aiba poked him rising to his knees.  
"Come on Nino, the host is awake, let's not be bad guests!"  
"He doesn't care what kind of guest I am. He just wants me to be happy, right Oh-chan?" It didn't sound like he was asking for any approval; he just went back to sleep. Ohno shook his head leaning in the door way.  
"I'm a heavy sleeper myself. But, I just wanted to make sure I didn't dream up bringing you guys home with me last night." It sounded naughtier than it actually was. Aiba grinned back at him. "And I'm making coffee. This head ache is killing me." Aiba nodded at the comment.  
"Yeah. Though I doubt caffeine will help."  
"I've got some aspirin if you want them," offered Ohno sheepish walking back to the living room. A pillow was slung after him accompanied by Nino's "Shut the heck up!" and Aiba's giggling comment to not be a bad guest.  
"Yum, coffee and aspirin, my favourite kind of breakfast!" Aiba commented hasting after his host and closing the door after throwing the pillow back.

After coffee and breakfast, which consisted of some left over toast, jam, and eggs, Aiba lay next to Ohno on his make shift bed.  
"You don't have a lot of stuff here. Are you planning on moving again soon?"  
"Not at all," Ohno yawned with a hand over his mouth, "I used to have a lot of stuff once. When I moved here, I left all of it behind. Just acquired the basics." Aiba glanced around.  
"This doesn't even look like 'the basics' to me, though. You only have a coffee maker here. Where do you do your laundry?"  
"At the Laundromat around the corner. My neighbour recommended it." Aiba looked a bit incredulous at that.  
"Do you even cook?"  
"I heat things up mostly. You know; water for noodles, rice with curry and stuff. I can make sushi and sashimi." It sounded like he was proud of that fact, though Aiba's gaze told him it wasn't something to be proud about.  
"I see. Well, at least you won't starve to death," was Aiba's comment when Ohno wasn't going to say anything.  
"I'm doing quite alright, thank you very much," countered Ohno, feeling a bit forced to defend himself and Aiba was quick to pick up on it.  
"Sorry, didn't want to make you feel bad. But it's really empty."

"Maybe he likes it that way," Nino commented sliding the door open and offering a shy nod as greeting, yawning as he entered and sat down on the bed. Aiba made a noise like he didn't believe it.  
"I found something interesting in the guest room, Oh-chan," Nino moved on changing subjects. Ohno looked at him with frown. Something interesting? What- Oh!  
"You found the drawing I made of you." Nino made a face of disappointment but nodded.  
"There's no fun in teasing you about it, if you already guessed it."  
Ohno shrugged smirking getting up to get him some breakfast.  
"And what did you think? Is it any good?" Of course it was good, Ohno knew at least that much.  
"Yeah, it's really good. Why did you draw me?"  
"No reason," he replied to the question, "I thought you were interesting." Aiba giggled at that just briefly before going into a full grin, hiding behind his hand and not daring to look Nino straight in the eyes.

"Interesting - yeah - that's not quite the compliment I was hoping for," Nino said to Ohno's back as he took his place beside Aiba on the bed. The artist blinked. To him it was a great compliment, because he only drew things that struck his interest. Like the shimmering of the sun on the water, the dawn on leaves of plants, animals and humans each with their own characteristics. He drew them over lapping other interests, making his work of art multi layered. So, he couldn't help but feel a little insulted and shrugged at the comment.  
"Well, I for one don't know what compliment you were expecting. It's not like you are really beautiful or pretty to draw, any way," the artist spoke to his kitchen wall to which Aiba laughed and yelled "Burn!" to his friend who looked insulted in return. Aiba smooth it over by saying he thought interesting was a great word to describe him.  
"Did you know that interesting, also means something which is important or brings around change? So by saying you're interesting Ohno-kun is implying you're important to him." Both the others stared at him like he was nuts.  
"I think you're still drunk," Nino said to his friend as Ohno gave him a plate with toast on it and refilled their mugs with coffee.  
"I think you're insane," Ohno mused. But Aiba wasn't all that far off. He didn't know if the explanation really fitted the word, but Nino sure brought around change since he had met him.


	10. Where is Jun?

Nino was being bitchy the rest of the morning and so this was one morning Ohno was glad he had to go to work. Aiba arranged for transport and after coffee at the Ohno's shop he took the whining guy to his own cafe across the street. He waited for Jun to come around in the afternoon. He had actually something to tell him, if Nino and Aiba hadn't already informed him of their side of the story. But all that came was no Jun. Not did Aiba or Nino come by to get coffee. The light mood he carried around - even with feeling groggy; he was a professional barista after all - turned to a slight worry. He eyed Nino's place constantly, because maybe Jun was there and had forgotten that he was supposed to come and work. But he didn't even see Aiba leave or any other customers come in. When six in the evening came and went Ohno decided to try and call him - to at least know he was still in the land of the living - after all - who knew what went on in a place called the Dungeon. After Nino's joke about the chains and mace, that whole image of a helpless tied up Jun had seeped into a dreadful possible reality by that time.   
He wondered if Nino had already called to check up on him too...

The number connected and went through to voice mail.  
"Hey Jun, this is Ohno from work." He frowned, Jun knew who he was, right? So why even... "I was wondering if you had forgotten you had work today. Hope your night went okay. Could you give me a call when you hear this message? Then I can at least stop worrying about why you aren't here." He disconnect after giving out his personal number and saying he'd be in the coffee shop until ten, covering for his absence. He stared at the phone for a few seconds. Did he really just add 'stop worrying about you'? Was that smart? Well, what ever it was, it was too late to take it back - and he was indeed worried.

Next he called the AoiYama cafe. The phone was answered by a woman's voice.  
"Blue Mountain Cafe. We don't have any rooms available. How can I help you?" Before Ohno could ask about Nino he heard himself ask something else.  
"How is it that you don't have any rooms available ever?" He didn't know if it was really 'ever' but he figured it was by now.  
"Just fully booked, as always. Bookings are done online and at the very minimum a month in advance, preferable tree to four. Does that answer your inquiry?"  
"Yes it does," Ohno said automatically.  
"Have a nice day, sir." And with that the connection as discontinued. So, Ohno called again.

"Blue Mountain Cafe. We don't have any rooms available. How can I help you?"  
"Hi, it's me again."  
"We are sill fully booked, sir." Ohno frowned with her assumption he was calling for that reason.   
"That's no why I am calling. Can you connect me to Ninomiya-san, please?"  
There was a slight pause.   
"Why?" Well, that was unprofessional. Either yes or no would suffice, right?  
"Does it matter?"  
"It does." Ohno's frown became a little deeper since he just wanted to confirm something and not wanting to explain anything to a total stranger. Without saying anything he just hung up. 

He wondered why Ninomiya wasn't at his desk. Didn't he say he was always working? Was the hang over that bad? Or maybe Jun had come by and he just hung out there instead of coming to work. What if something really had happened? Ohno was stunned for a moment blinking and frowning for a whole other reason. Wondering why he cared so much. Sighing he wiped the counter and took orders from costumers fixing their coffees half heartedly, eyeing the café. 

"Don't tell me this is what you are doing now!" The voice made him shiver as he looked up into the familiar face of Sakurai Sho. The neatly combed hair, the dark eyes which smiled with curiosity and disbelieve, accompanied by a thin line along the lips. Something told Satoshi this was not a social visit.  
"Order something or step out of the line, please," he replied business like towards the guy whom he once considered a friend, glad there were more people coming in. Taking a peek at the clock it told him rush hour was almost upon him for which is was grateful.  
"Just coffee then. Black -"  
"No cream, no sugar. I still remember." Sho laughed pleasantly at that.  
"Perfect. Can we talk?"  
"No we can't. This is my busiest time of the day. Can I take your order?" Ohno glanced up at the person behind Sho as he stepped aside, while Ohno already started fixing the regular coffee. Aiba smiled but said nothing, even if he glanced at Sho from the side - knowing he wasn't local.  
"Two Blue Mountain's...one Mocha caramel and three regular. Can I get a bunch of sugar and milk to go?" Ohno smiled at that, even if it was a substantial order.  
"Everything all right over there? I haven't seen you all day." Aiba smiled pleasantly.  
"We're okay, though Nino is still complaining. There was a water leak in the basement. So I've been mopping the entire day. Believe me - that's not what you want to be doing. Between you and me - I'm glad I have to get to work soon. Nino is giving me more headache than the hang over does."

While Aiba was talking pleasantly, he had fixed Sho's coffee and worked on completing Aiba's. He hesitated on the rum for a minute.  
"It's not for me," Aiba smiled, "My boss would kill me." He stayed silent after that for a few seconds. "You called the café, right?" Ohno nodded to that as he looked up, "So you haven't heard anything from Jun either?"   
There was worry in his voice which was echoed by the concern Ohno already felt as he shook his head.


	11. Where trouble starts

"Friend of yours?"  
Sho sat in the window still on a cushion staring outside. The flood of coffee drinkers had died down with only a few of them lounging around the shop. There were a few girls in the back laughing heartedly at something. Their laughter so much more welcome to him than anything Sho would want to tell him. Like the reason why he was here. He already dreaded the conversation since he had spotted him - even more so now that Aiba had confirmed Jun was no where to be found at the moment. His mind was preoccupied, even making him slip up the orders twice tonight.  
"No, they are just customers," Ohno responded from behind his counter.  
"I meant the Blue Mountain coffee guy," his former friend said pointing with his pinky to the café across the street while holding his coffee in the same hand. He must have had three refills by now and didn't show signs of leaving, no matter how desperately Ohno willed him to.  
"Yeah, he is," lied Ohno. After all he only met the guy last night. But there was no way of Sho knowing that.  
"You seem close. And a friend is missing, right?"

Ohno sighed making a face showing his reluctance to discuss his private life with him. Sho took the hint as they met eyes. He made himself more comfortable and indicated to the spot across from him.  
"Bet you're wondering why I'm here."  
Ohno who had brought a regular coffee with him shook his head after drinking a few sips.  
"Nope, not really. I'm actually just wonder when you are going to leave." His voice had a tentative note to it, one he didn't want to hide. Sho's smile faltered a little.  
"When you left, you kind of left us in ruin," his former friend said leaning towards him. Ohno shrugged. Not because he didn't care, more because he had seen trouble coming miles away and after no one took his words seriously he had removed himself before it got much worse.  
"How is that my problem?" he said uninterested, taking a sip watching the guy with the straight hair and glasses, over the brim of his paper cup. Sho smiled slyly.  
"I can make it your problem."  
Ohno grinned at that with some disbelieve and made a mocking sound; still, his interest peeked a little.  
"Really? How is this going to be my problem? Are you resorting to blackmail? Because there's no way you can pin this on me." 

Sakurai kept smiling and watching him without saying anything. The smile he sported falter a little. There was nothing they could pin on him, right? He tied everything up neatly before leaving... right?  
Sho shook his head.  
"No, there will be no blackmailing. honestly, I was just kidding." Ohno blinked at him. It was another reminder of why he was glad he had left in the first place, even though he did miss working with art. But he had found a new reason to start again and he was not going to let that slip away. Focussing his gaze on Sho again he sighed.  
"I don't follow. Why are you hear then?"

Sho smiled broadly.  
"Just wan't to see how you were doing. You left so suddenly."  
That wasn't really true. He had given his notice timely and he had even put his leaving on the mailing list for the company to read - or not read - whatever.  
"Won't you come back and work for us again?" Sho asked, "They have changed management."  
No, thank you, was Ohno's immediate thought. They had tried to pin the whole scandal on him and the way he did business with the artists. He never did anything out of the ordinary and everything according to contracts. They were the reason he was left virtually penniless. So, it really wasn't that hard to believe with all things considered, that the art house wasn't doing so hot. Which was the true reason to Sho's visit.

It irked him that he felt intrigued by the prospect of being valuable enough to be asked back. Because of all the shit that had happened there he wasn't really wanting to return, but he love the art house and the relation he had build there - which were now next to none thanks to all the rumours and accusations the company had made.  
He'd have to build those relations from the ground up, question also was that he didn't really want to do business with those people who so easily and falsely believed he was the one to blame.

His mind became troubled and Sakurai waved his hand in front of him to get his attention.  
"you need time to figure out what you want?"  
Ohno just looked at him blankly.  
"I don't want to come back," he heard himself say, making his mind up slowly. "I will admit I miss it. I miss working with art." His voice was soft, "But I - " He tried to build some order to this thoughts, "I don't want to work for you any longer." He wanted to add he felt betrayed but that might not be smart if he would change his mind.

Sho didn't look impressed though as Ohno eyes him.  
"you still have friends back there-" he started which Ohno immediately countered  
"You are not one of them. So, what do you really want?"  
The former friend laughed with the directness.  
"You've changed," he replied pointing a finger at him smiling like he like it, "I need you to come back. Plain and simple. Else I will claim a breech in contract. And I will take you to court if I have to."


	12. The wait

It wasn't until later that Sakurai had finally left. After saying he would take Ohno to court over a contract breech if he didn't return, Ohno did what he was good at. Shutting people out by means of ignoring him. It was a tactic which worked, because if you ignored people only two things happened. The either got pissed off, or they left you alone. Being at the receiving end of this before, Sho knew when to call it quits. He had left with a warning, but Ohno couldn't care less.  
The minute Sho left he called the AoiYama café.

"AoiYama," sounded a familiar voice. Ohno waited for the rest of the sentence until the silence told him there was nothing to follow.  
"It's Ohno."  
"Oh, Hi. How are you?"  
"Fine, working. You?"  
"Headache. But that's what you get for being interesting, isn't it."  
Ohno cringed. He had the impression Ninomiya would never let him live that down, even if he considered it the greatest compliment he had ever given people - and not to many at that.  
"Did you hear from Jun?"  
There was a silence and then a reluctant negative.  
"Is that normal?" questioned Ohno carefully. Jun didn't take many days off so Ohno felt he wasn't all that familiar with Jun's drinking habits and mornings after.  
"No," came the short reply, "Aiba-chan has gone to check up on him. I haven't heard back from him either." If the situation was normal, Ohno would have thought Nino was making light conversation, but the worry was noticeable in his voice.  
"You are working Jun's shift too now, aren't you?"  
"I am, but that's a concern for later."  
"Hm," was all he got in reply.  
"Nino?"  
"Yes?"  
"I'm sorry I called you interesting."  
There was a pause in which Ohno began to think Nino had fallen asleep or had fainted or something before he heard him scrape his throat.  
"Why?" The artist didn't know how to answer that. Obviously, Nino didn't like the compliment. So he wanted to take it back. And Nino should've let him. Then, why was Nino now asking for a reason?  
"Because I - I didn't mean to insult you." That was what he truly feared. He wasn't all that good with people - they threw him off balance. But Nino was interesting, and therefore he wanted to be on his good side.  
"You didn't insult me," Nino voice sounded over the line. It sounded reluctant in admittance, but he still said it.  
"Then I'm confused," Ohno sighed, leaning on the counter, running a hand through his hair, staring ahead without seeing anything.  
"Interesting is just fine, Ohno-kun. Don't worry about it."

There wasn't much Ohno could say to that and as the silence continued to hang between them, Ohno broke the connection without even saying goodbye. Feeling weird he kept staring at his phone unsure what to make of it. And still there was no word on Jun. Ohno didn't know where the guy lived so travelling there was not an option. And he was running out of options to find him.

Closing time came and Ohno opted to make three coffees before locking up and sauntering to the café across the street. Trying to open the front door was a hassle with three paper cups of coffee before making his way in. Nino sat at the counter where he had found him the first time around.  
They crossed gazes and Nino looked away again keeping quiet. This wasn't the cheery guy he had expected to find. For some reason, Ohno thought coming in with coffee was sort of a peace offering.  
Ohno sighed walking over, placing the coffee on the counter and pushing one towards his friend. Because all things considered, he did see Nino as a friend. Jun's words echoed in his head still. 'What he really does is figuring out if you will stick around long enough to earn his trust.' And this was probably a situation in which Nino would decide for real if you were worth his time.  
"Still no word from Jun?" Nino shook his head, taking the coffee with a sigh.  
"Aiba called, though. He's gone to my house to get the spare key to Jun's place. But I'm beginning to doubt he came home at all."  
"What do you think happened? Is that Dungeon place really this dangerous?" Ohno looked at Nino taking a chair and sitting across the counter from him so he could watch Nino's reactions.  
"It's not dangerous. We were teasing about the mace and chains." If Jun was here, Nino would have smiled admitting his teasing, but not now as he watched his paper cup and traced the top with his index finger.  
"Best case scenario, he found some one and crashed at their place having a great time." There was another pause as if even Nino doubted that was what was going on.  
"Worst case is that he is dead, lying in a ditch somewhere." Nino's voice still sounded the same but something happened in his eyes. Even with the dim lighting Ohno spotted it, mostly because he could focus tirelessly on objects which held his fascination. There was this pure, almost raw emotion which surfaced and dissipated when he tried to laugh it off, facing Ohno and moving his hair out of his face with his hand. Before Nino could lay it back against his paper cup, holding it with both hands, Ohno took it and squeezed him tight as he lay them linked on the counter.  
It was a spontaneous action, one Ohno questioned immediately after reaching out. But when Nino squeezed back without looking at him, Ohno felt better about his show of support.  
"I'm sure he is fine," they both said simultaneously after a short silence, both struggling with what ever emotion surfaced. They even sounded the same. Nino smiled. A half-hearted one. One which held as much suppressed emotions as his eyes did. And just like that, Ohno became that much more interested in Nino without wanting too.


	13. Mitsukete...

There was something powerful happening just before the phone rang, when both of them stared at their joined hands. Nino broke the connection and for some reason Ohno felt the loss of it deeper then he believed possible. 

"Nino," Nino said answering the cell phone. There was something frantic happening on the other side. He could hear it in the echo of the sounds and it was reflected in the face of his friend.  
"He's not home?" Frowning "Wait ... Aiba! What does that-" An alarmed look which startled Ohno, who tried to concentrate on the sounds coming from the phone but couldn't quite make out what was happening on the other end.  
"Geez, seriously? But - " Nino sighed frustrated, unable to continue speaking because Aiba was talking so fast, fixing Ohno with a hard stare. He swallowed reluctantly under it, knowing it was more meant for Aiba than him.  
"Aiba- HEY! SHUT THE..." The was a silence and Nino didn't finish his outburst suddenly looking rather defeated for a moment.  
"I'm on my way over. I just need to find some one to-" There was a pause. But now Ohno couldn't hear anything, although he thought he heard something sounding like sobs and by the look on Nino's face, which had turned gentle within seconds, he wasn't that far off.  
"Yes, I'll hurry. You know I will." And with that he disconnected and stared at his phone for a second before opening the contact info menu.

"I'll watch the place for you if you need to go." the words left Ohno's mouth before they fully registered in his brain. But hearing them out loud and seeing the surprise look from Nino turning thankful, he nodded. "Just go. Keep me posted, though." 

Waiting around aimlessly was not something Ohno did. He felt a dread like he was being stuck at work for no reason. He found printing paper and started doodling absent mindedly before realising he was drawing his new found friendly trio. It was mainly there eyes, and more Nino's than theirs as he often paused to just stare at them. Midnight came and went. He watched the monitors and hoped no one would come in or go away. Nino had given him several numbers which he could call in case of 'trouble'. They were neatly penned down.  
1\. In case of Fire - get out! (Really? Wow, he never would have guessed that's what you were supposed to do)  
Check the monitors, localise, call fire department. If possible check on tennants.  
2\. In case of flooding - see Fire  
3\. Earthquakes/tsunamis - see Water  
Ohno blinked as he leaved through the info. This wasn't really what he was expecting.  
4\. Check people out - smile, note down in log book (top shelf), get money - charge over time - wish them a nice day.  
5\. Check people in - note them down in the log book.  
Beneath it there was some scribbling which said: Do people ever leave this please?  
And in a different writing: Is this Hotel California?

The company phone rang at nearly four AM. By then Ohno felt tired from running around. He had gotten used to being asked weird questions about a variety of things ranging from bathroom slippers, to anime - and most of those were somehow sex related. It was pretty unnerving at first, but after two hours he didn't even bat an eyelash any more. He spend most of the night wondering how Nino dealt with these people.  
"AoiYama - we don't have rooms available. How can I help you?"  
"It's Nino. Is that what our slogan sounds like? We need to work on that."  
Ohno couldn't help a smile.  
"Hi, what's going on? Did you find Jun?"  
"Yeah, Aiba found him when he called before. We're at the hospital." There was a pause. Nino had left without explaining anything Aiba had told him during the first conversation. And as Nino seemed kind of freaked out, Ohno hadn't pressed for information and so he remained very much in the dark about what had happened. 

"Jun got into an accident last night. He probably didn't even make it to the Dungeon." Nino's voice sounded matter of factly.  
"How is he?"  
"Heavily sedated until they can determine the severity of his wounds. I'm guessing most of the damage is internal. So, I don't really know how he is doing. Doctors say he's stable and they kind of urged us to go home." There was another pause. "But we are staying as long as we can. Or at least until you need to open up the coffee house." 

There was a slight pause. "I tried calling for a replacement so you can go home, but no one's picking up." There is was again. That tone which said he wanted to ask for a favour but didn't know to. Ohno smiled to himself.  
"I'm happy to help out. I'll ask my manager to see if he can replace me - if need be, I'll put up a sign saying it's close due to circumstances."  
"I don't want you to get into trouble over this," Nino said sounding apologetic. "You've been up nearly 24 hours. What time do you open?"  
"Jun's shift starts at seven, mine starts at ten. But I'm guessing I have to open up at seven."

Nino stayed quiet for a while as he could hear his muffled voice talking to someone else's.  
"I will be there at seven. I promise," Nino answered before disconnecting.  
The sound of his voice had been soft and made Ohno's skin tingle in a way he couldn't really explain. Even after Nino had hung up he was clenching his hands around the horn as if to prolong that moment. But that was foolish, he soon realised. And he needed to get in touch with his boss, because it sounded like Jun was out of the running for a long time. He truly hoped Jun was okay. Because he did like the guy. He was friendly and dependable. He also hoped Jun wasn't going to lose his job if he was away for too long. He would work for two if it made Nino happy - which was an odd realisation in itself.

He called his boss at six, because that was a much better time for it he figured. Ever tried calling you boss at fuck o'clock at night? He didn't recommend it. They arranged a meeting later that day, in the hopes that by the afternoon Ohno knew a bit more about Jun's predicament - something Ohno hoped too. He didn't stress the fact that he was working Jun's shift, but by the sound of it, his boss had figured that much out already. Putting up a notice was not an option, since he was paid to work for the coffee house and not the café across from it.

Ohno hadn't spoken to the boss all that long - and he didn't do that as often. Jun was usually the one arranging most of the stuff and the inventory. It was something he should have looked into some more, he realised, leaning on the counter of the café, which by now seemed more like a hotel.  
A little past half seven that morning Nino made his entrance. He must have walked around back, as he didn't use the front door like Ohno did. He looked tired. And worried. But he smiled as if nothing was wrong. And by now, if Ohno hadn't known better he would have believed it. 

"Hey, Good morning, Ohno-kun!" Nino greeted, walking up to him and surprising him with a hug. Startled Ohno let it happen. He remembered the last time all too well. And so he let his arms circle the smaller one and pull him even closer. He felt Nino's hands on his back moving up to his shoulders, almost clinging to him as he hid his face against the nape of Ohno's neck and just stayed there for a bit, inhaling his scent.


End file.
